@Setanta,
Quote:Culture, however, abhors chaos. Cultures are goal-oriented, because cultures are devised to further the goals of groups: to hunt more successfully, to protect the group and particularly its young, to dominate over or eliminate competitors. Justifications from religion or any other ideology are rationales after the fact.
Hence it is an error of logic to blame religion for anything. Whatever ills occur are due to a collective drive to further the goals of groups, to hunt more successfully, to protect the group and particularly its young and to dominate over or eliminate competitors. Criticism of religion is therefore criticism of that drive. As the drive is evolutionary criticism of religion is anti-evolution.
Criticism of religion is logical if the beliefs of the religion fail to further those goals and such criticism is difficult to level against the Christian religion because it has fulfilled those goals more successfully than any other culture ever did.
Criticism of religion is also valid if it offers an alternative to the religious leaders which will fulfil those goals more effectively, as Communism argues, and justifies its alternative with plausible and practical programmes of action.
Criticism of religion because some of its officials are corrupt, or evil, or that its professed beliefs are unprovable scientifically, are nothing but noises off from people whose ego thrusting has convinced them that they are better theologians than the religious elite. Such criticism is thus subversive, anti-culture and unscientific and might justifiably be persecuted or even demand persecution if those goals are put at risk.
